Safety device for breech loading guns



w. v. GoonHuE Erm. I 2,457,222 SAFETY DEVICE FOR BREECH LOADING GUNS Dec. 28, 1948.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 4, 1947 Inventors UYz'ZZz'amT/G'oodhue EmersonCGiZZ mw Qn w.- y. GooDHuE ETAL SAFETY DEVICE FOR BREECH LOADING GUNS Dec, 2s, 194s.

Filed Sept. 4, 1947 'SVSheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 28, 1948 UNIT EDf--sfrffrss P* Application september 4, 19m-serial No: 772,157:

`This' `invention relates towa` safety'device for. i-usesetitingfand` rammingsmechanismsto prevent theramxning` of a round against,` a closed breech` block'an'd itrisherein illustratedias applied tofan anti-aircraft "gun having an. automatic; fuse-setl` ting and ramrning` mechanismzoi the type` disclosed` in the; application` of Dabrasky,; Goodhue and Taylor, Serial; No.:473,738`,,ledJanuary 27, 1943, which has maturedfinto, Patent No. 2,442,401, I'nat'entedf` June l, 1'948..

Iny usingf antiaircraftf'guns'vvhich are provided with an* automatic; fuse-setting and` ramming mechanism it is the custom for the gunnerto close-thebreech-blockA manually at the end of a period of' use to prevent `dirt and moisture from getting intothe barrelfofA the gunand` it isnec` essary to insure reopening ofthe breechbloclc beforefitfs safefto `usethe mechanism becauseof" the obvious danger'of` ramming a shell violently against the outside of the closedbreechblock and causinganfexplosion in themechanism.` The` normal `operation of the useesettingr andramming mechanismvof the: above applicationgin'- cludesthe presentationtofz a round'to a pair of drivenffeedroll's which 'carry' the shell,` forwardly: i-ntocon'tact Withfuseesetting jaws. These jawsi stop` th'evround and"` sta'lll the` feed rollsl by' reason of their'engagement'withithe round; Thereafter, when the" fuse has' b'eenvset, th'ejawsare WithL4 drawn and the `round,"pushed forward` into r' the gun; the `bree'chblock` closingfautonratically An object of theinvention is' to provideV afsafety device i which Will cooperate vvith the device `shown inthe above'mentioned application `to prevent-` malfunctioning thereofl` i Ashereiny illustratedla datent isfprovidedwhieh is movedinto the' path` `of the fusejaW-opening parts. and which thu'sprevents the 'release ofthe. shell" held by thejav's` anddcompletionfof the: ramming movement. Associated.With'thisidetent isa linkage, the position ofvvhich `depends' upbn the position of the breechblock andwhfeneverthei breechblock is in its open position lthe detent isy rendered ineifective. lurtherinnere the arrangement is such that the detent is automatically reset as the breechblockisopenedat:about the beginning of counter-recoil; y Y,

These and other features4 ofthe invention Will` best be-understoodirom, aconsiderationof the following,A specicationutaken inconnectionwith the accompanying drawings in Which I Eig;` i. is an: angular view,` from the. left rear side ofthecradle, offanantiaircraftygun, in bat tery position, on which theremhasbeen,momted a. rammingfsand; fuse-:setting mechanism having such a xsafety -'device Fig.x'2 `issayside;` elevation onza larger scale ofV means: for"operatingvarsaf-ety lock; f

Fig; :3. is: aY 'vertical section: onthe line III-III- Fig;4 4is;a,horizontal2 section through the feed rolls Lof; the` rammngmechanism;l ,but showing;

theme f separated asV in 'ther position `which they assume when? thecartridge casefis" being; expelled;I andi@i ,A

l Fig. 5,is'laaverticalfsection through1the fuse setterfmechanismpshowing the fuse j awsv with dravvnio,l permit the passage of a shell tov the;

Ther illustrated safety` device,l for preventing l accidental ramming-'iof i around of vammunition when the breechblockis` closed; is shown herein as4 applied to any4 antiaircraft The.- barrel`4 of that gun ijs mountedi for .recoilmovement in (Fig: 1).f` Theseigmounts" areepivcted on the-sub frame `22:A The rcllsy32'6gv-are interconnected for rotation together by'l pinions' 3-2l andl the mounts 28 -arewlsvvung` inwardly `to .bring;the-rol1sagainst the-sidesfof a round wheneverthe g-un is in battery position, ready to.beflcaded,- so" that a rod 34 eng-ages the breech,rings-ot,Y the gun resiliently".

urges-:theme11 mounts.iinvvard.4 Upon recoil, a springv 36foperating on rod 3ft` through a cross piece-38opensftherolls t Associatedwith `the -rarnming vmechanism and., in line with the boreof the-gun isiafuse-setting mechanismlwhichf comprisesga `ring 40@ (Fig. 5) capable; of being: turned about theaxis of the bore of the ,gun to -set the fuse ring of a shell. The tnse'gring-fis engaged, when the parts are in operative position, by knives 42 mounted onvjaws 44 capable of-ibeing` swung inwardly by linksd connected tora sliding, s1eeve.-like rank'48. ThisA rack is slidablea-Xially ontharing lill'v and has, on its outerg-surface,circularurackrbs 5 0, engaged by.

thel teeth ofyai pinion, 521mg-, 3,), which is onan upright shaft 54 journaled in the sub-frame 22. The shaft 54 carries at its upper end another pinion 56 meshing with a rack 58. This rack 58, formed as part of a block 60, is urged forwardly of the gun by a spring 62 (Figs. 1 and 2) which surroundsa rod 64 connected to the rack block 60 and one end of the spring engages a collar 66 (Fig. 1) on this rod while the other end abuts a bracket 68 on the breech ring |8. When the block 60 and the rod 64 are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the fuse jaws 44 are closed because the rod 64 will have been pushed to the rear by an operating rod 10 which is pushed out from a control box 12 by mechanism contained therein. At that time the fuse jaws are turned inwardly to a position where they catch the shell and prevent further movement of it toward the breech ofthe gun, whereupon the driven rolls 26 are stalled by engagement with the shell which is held from movement by the fuse setter.

Our safety mechanism is so designed that a detent 80 engages the frontend of the block 60 and prevents the fuse jaws 44 from being thrown outwardly by the spring 62 to the position shown in Fig. whenever the breechblock is closed. To this end the detent 80 is mounted in a grooved carrier 82 pivoted on a pin 84 supported in the bracket 68 which serves as a guide for the rod 64. Thisbracket, being on the breech ring I8, recoils with the gun. The forward end of the detent carrier 82 is provided with a transverse slot 84' cut back at 86 and 88 to provide a tapered entrance to that slot to facilitate the entrance, during counter-recoil, of a roll 90 which 'is mounted on the upper end of a vertically movable bar 92 which is down when the breechblock is in its upper and hence its closed position. This bar l92 is provided with a slot 94 so that it may move up and down on a xed guide pin 96 which is attached to the vside of the cradle I4.

The lower end of the bar 92 is pivotally connected to a bell-crank 98 mounted Von a shaft 96' which is journaled in the side of the cradle and the bell-crank is urged in a counterclockwise direction by a spring |00. Inside the cradle the shaft 96 of the bell-crank 98 is provided with a long slender arm |02, the under side of which, under the action of the spring |00, bears against the pin |04 of a crank |06 which is mounted to rotate with a Ashaft |08 which carries an operating armr (not shown) for raising the breechblock 20. The crank |06 is used for automatically opening the breechblock during counter-recoil as will be later described. The detent carrier 82 is normally moved in a clockwise direction by a spring ||0 interposed between said carrier and a cup-shaped lug ||2 on the bracket 68. Thus, because of the springs |00 and I0, the slender crank arm |02 can never interfere with the operation of the breechblock, and the roll 90 on the upper end of the vertically slidable bar 92 can never break the carrier 82 whatever the position of the detent 80 may be. The detentl 60 is normally spring-pressed upwardly against the bottom of the rack block 60 by an internally mounted spring H4 positioned between the under side of the detent 80 and a horizontal portion of the carrier 82 but its movement is limited by the engagement of a tail-piece ||6 on the detent with a ledge ||8 on the carrier 82.

In a gun of this type, the operation of the breechblock` 20 is normally automatic. The breechblock is closed initially, as a round enters the gun, by engagement of a ange |20 (Fig. 4) on the rear end of a cartridge case |22 with the extractors (not shown) thus releasing a latch and allowing a spring to raise the breechblock. When this happens the crank |06 of Fig. 2 will assume its dot and dash position and, as the gun recoils, the crank pin |04 will travel along the cradle above the upper edge of a strip |24 attached to that cradle by means of bolts |26. At the rear end of this strip there is an automatic breech-opening cam |28 pivoted on the inside of the cradle which is deflected by the crank pin and then springs back into position in front of that crank pin as the gun reaches its rearmost position. Then as the gun starts on counterrecoil the crank pin will engage the rear edge |30 of the opening cam |28 and will be caused to slide downwardly turning the crank so as to open the breechblock. The crank pin will follow along the under side |32 of the strip 24 as the gun moves back to battery position.

It will be understood that, after the gun has been fired, the control rod 10 will be moved rearwardly by mechanism contained within the control box 12 and will cause the rod 64 and the block 60 to be moved rearwardly thereby to move the fuse jaws to their inner position as the gun moves forwardly into battery position during counterrecoil. At that time the breechblock 20 will be in its lowered position corresponding to the full line position of the crank |06. The arm |02 attached to the crank 98 will then be in its full line position and the sliding bar 92 will be raised releasing the detent for the next loading and firing cycle.

However, if the breech has been closed manually by a hand lever (not shown), which is on the far side of the cradle as viewed in Fig. 2 and which is attached to the crank shaft |08, then the long thin arm |02 will be raised to its dot and dash position and will draw down the bar 92 and the roll thus tilting the detent carrier 82 and moving the detent 80 to its upper position. This will prevent the spring 62 from moving forward the rod 64 attached to the rack block 60, if the rod 'l0 were to be pulled into the control box 12, and thus will prevent the fuse-setting jaws 44 from being moved outwardly to the position shown in Fig'. 5. In their inner position, these jaws are braced on the radially positioned links 46 and prevent the round of ammunition from moving beyond them toward the breechblock and thereby prevent any accidental engagement of the round with that block.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination, a breech-loading gun having a displaceable breechblock, a ramming mechanismA for delivering a round of ammunition to the gun, a stop to interrupt the movement of the round before it reaches the breechblock, means for releasing said stop, a detent to prevent release of the stop, land means responsive to the position of the breechblock to move the detent into and out of operative relation to the stop-releasing means.

2. In combination, a breech-loading gun having la displaceable breechblocka ramming mechanism therefor, means for stopping the round carried forward by the ramming mechanism, said means being movable into the path of the round to engage it, means for moving said stopping means out of the path of the round, a detent for said moving means, and means for moving said detent into the path of said moving means when the ibreechblock is closed.

3. In combination, a support,- a breech-loading gun mounted for recoil with respect to the support, a displaceable breechblock on the gun, automatic mechanism to open the breechblock during counter-recoil, operator controlled mechanism for closing the breechblock, a fuse setter adjacent to the breech of the gun, said fuse setter having a member movable into engagement with the round to stop it and maintain it in that position during the fuse-setting operation, a ramming mechanism aliner with the fuse setter, movable means for withdrawing Ithe fuse setter stop member, a detent engaging said withdrawing means, and means responsive to the position of the breechblock to move the detent into and out of the path of the stop-withdrawing means.

4. In combinati-on, a support, a breech-loading gun mounted for recoil with respect to the support, a displaceable vbreech-block on the gun, automatic mechanism to open the breechblock during `counter-recoil, operator-controlled mechanism for closing the breechblock, a fuse setter adjacent to the breech of the gun, said fuse setter having a member movable into eng-agement with lthe round to stop it and maintain it in that position during the fuse-setting operation, a ramming mechanism alined with the fuse setter, movable means for withdrawing the fuse setter stop mem'fber, la detent engaging said withdrawing means, means responsive to the position of the breechblock to move the detent into and out of the path of the stop-withdrawing means, and a connection between the breechblock and said -detent to position the latter in accordance with the position of the breechblock.

5. In combination, a gun cradle, a gun slidably mounted thereon for recoil movement, a fusesetting mechanism mounted on the gun and arranged for operation upon a round moving along a path alined with the bore of the gun, said fusesetting mechanism including a round-engaging stop, movable means on the gun for withdrawing said stop, a detent on the gun movable into and out of the path of movement of said stop moving means, said detent being provided with a forked end, a member movably mounted on the cradle having a portion to enter the forked end of the detent, and a connection between the said member and .the breechblock to position the member in accordance with the position of the breechblock.

6. A mechanism as in claim 5 in Which the detent comprises a pivoted carrier forked at one end and grooved at the other, a pawl in said grooved portion, a spring to move the pawl out of the groove, and Ia stop to limit the outward movement of the pawl.

WILLIAM V. GOODHUE. EMERSON C. GILL.

No references cited. 

